Sententia // Perspective

A lot of people hate the word “agnostic”. They think it’s wishy-washy or a cop-out. There is a perception out there that agnostics just don’t want to admit that they hold an opinion that might be contrary to those held by people around them.

In some ways, people who call themselves “agnostics” are accused of many of the same things as atheists. They’re intolerant. They have no morals. They always want to have their cake and eat it too. They ignore the evidence that there is a divine.

But at the same time, they’re accused of the same things that those with strong religious convictions are accused of. They’re intolerant. They they to push their morals on others. They always want to have their cake and eat it too. They ignore the evidence of science.

So which way is it? Or rather, which way isn’t it? Here’s a look at 5 misconceptions about agnostics…

Myth #1: Anyone who doubts anything is an agnostic

Sure, the word agnostic comes from Greek and literally means “one who doesn’t know.” But to try to take this to mean that anyone who says they don’t know the ins and outs of quantum theory is an agnostic just doesn’t work. Why?

The word “agnostic”, as used in its modern context, was coined by Thomas Huxley. He combined the prefix “a” (meaning “not”) with the term “gnostic” which had been used by Christian theologians for hundreds of years to discuss a higher knowledge of spiritual things.

An agnostic isn’t just someone “who doesn’t know” (if that were the case, everyone would be an agnostic), it’s someone who claims to not have knowlege the of higher spiritual truths.

Myth #2: Agnostics are just soft atheists

Sure, some agnostics doubt God’s existence, which makes them appear to be just another form of atheists — that they’re just atheists who won’t admit it. But to be clear, an agnostic isn’t simply someone who says “I doubt that there is a God.”

Agnosticism is characterized by the belief that it’s impossible to know whether there’s a God or not (or if there’s heaven or not, or if there’s anything supernatural out there or not).

It’s perfectly alright for an agnostic to say, “I tend to be of the opinion that there is a God, but really, it’s impossible to know for sure.” And it’s equally alright for an agnostic to say, “I tend to be of the opinion that there isn’t a God, but really, it’s impossible to know for sure.”

That’s all agnosticism really is. The admission that it’s impossible to know definitely what’s “out there” beyond what we can perceive on an everyday level.

Myth #3: Agnostics are on their way to being atheists (or theists)

This is a common perception among people of strong religious conviction. Many religiously theist folk look at agnostics and say “you used to be one of us, and now you’re falling away. Before long, you’ll have gone all the way over to atheism.”

Then again, many atheists look at agnostics and say “you used to be a hardcore atheist, but you’re going soft. Before long, you’ll end up being a theist.”

The fact is that neither is true. Yes, there are some who go from theism to atheism (or vice versa) and make a stop at agnosticism in the middle. But remember, agnosticism doesn’t make a statement about the existence of God except to say that it’s impossible to be certain.

Most people who go from one extreme to the other don’t ever say that it’s impossible to know, but rather that they don’t know. It’s not the same thing.

Myth #4: Agnostics are just ignorant

Be it ignorant of science or ignorant of the evidence of divinity, ignorance is a common accusation levied against agnostics. Many agnostics, however, are painfully aware of the arguments for theism and the arguments for atheism.

It’s not a simple matter to say “it’s impossible to know” since — as was noted — sitting on the fence isn’t highly regarded in today’s society.

For many agnostics, it’s a matter of carefully weighing all the evidence, a matter of informing oneself to the fullest, and to ultimately say “in spite of, and because of, all this evidence, I believe that it’s impossible to know one way or the other for sure.”

Myth #5: Agnosticism is rare

We all know (or I hope we do by now) that statistics can be used to prove just about anything. Just a quick Internet search will reveal studies showing that anywhere from 2%-35%+ of people are agnostics.

Part of the problem comes in that most surveys lump together agnostics, atheists, etc. all together in a category creatively called, “other.” It’s also given as an option completely independent from the major religious traditions of the world.

The implication is always that one can’t be (for example) Christian and agnostic. But there are many people who are both. There are many people who are members of dogmatically theist religions who maintain that it is impossible to know for certain that there is a God. Agnosticism isn’t as rare as you might be lead to believe.

Summing Up

So there’s five misconceptions about agnostics that I can think of. Sam Harris had a similar list giving 10 myths about atheists, and most of those can also be applied to agnostics.

But if anything, I hope this list has given you an insight into what it really means to be agnostic. It’s not a cop-out. It’s not refusing to take a position. It’s choosing to take a position.

Being agnostic is actually quite a strong statement of belief — belief that knowing an unknowable divine is impossible.

If you only take one thing away from this list, let it be this: agnosticism doesn’t mean that you certainly don’t know, it means that you believe you can’t know for certain.